A Case of Love
by P0ttergirl
Summary: New York's elite Second Unit was like a second family to the crime fighting partners Killian and Emma. Together they solve a variety of criminal cases and face off against criminals more evil than one can imagine. Along the way they might just solve the case of what is going on between them.


Special Investigations Second Unit is New York's highest ranked cop unit in the city. They had the highest close rate in the entire PD; although the members sometimes bent the rules in the name of justice which was likely why none of them had made the way to first unit. They investigated cases which their corrupt management told them to leave well enough alone. It probably also helped that they could all be a pain to work with.

Detective Robin was known to talk anyone's ear off about the forest whenever he had the chance. Regina Mills had a thing for being a bit of a dark horse. She tended to have a bit of a psycho side. It didn't get any more normal from there; August Booth showed up to the office everyday on a motorcycle. He was most well known for flirting with the ladies of the PD and it was rumoured that he had gang affiliations. Neal Cassidy was their resident hacker turned computer analyst. He could hack his way into almost anything without leaving a trace. Of course he never did this officially as some of his hacking wasn't exactly allowed. Killian Jones had a penchant for a good rum and he tended not to play well with others. How his partner Emma managed not to kill him everyday was a surprise. Although to be fair Emma could be a pain to get along with as well. She had a strong and stubborn personality and refused to help the corrupt. She also had a natural dislike of authority which meant she was likely to solve cases her own way.

Emma and Killian were some of the most elite members of the PD and their partnership was legendary. They could communicate their intentions by looks alone. The lower units had nicknamed them The Leather Duo as they both had a penchant for wearing leather coats. Some of the PD even had a betting pool of whether or not they were hooking up on the side. They weren't but the rumour mill still circulated stories to the contrary.

Part of being a member of the prestigious 2nd Unit meant going into some rather dangerous situations. Such was the terrorist threat that had landed the crew at a nearby mall. Most of the people had already been evacuated due to the bomb threat but a few stragglers who couldn't keep up were still inside.

Neal Cassidy was trying to get into contact with the bomb squad who had yet to arrive on the scene. August was trying to reunite the kids who had been separated from their parents. Regina and Robin were trying to keep the crowd calm and prevent them from getting too close to the building. Emma and Killian were helping the remaining individuals run out of the building.

That was were everything went horribly wrong. Someone in the crowd had mentioned hearing a kid on the upper floor. Which meant that the Leather Duo needed to split up.

"Emma you get everyone out and I'll look for the kid" Killian said.

"Great idea. I have an even better one. You let me find the kid and you can lead everyone to safety" Emma said while crossing her arms defiantly.

"We don't have time to argue. I'm not letting you run around the upper floor of a building that's under threat of exploding" he argued back. Before Emma had a chance to argue further Killian had already started running back up the escalator.

Emma huffed in annoyance and continued helping the elderly people and the other stragglers down the final escalator and towards the exit. She sent a silent prayer out to whatever powers that be to keep her partner safe.

Once Emma and the people she was leading made it out the space was filled with the joyous reuniting of friends and family. Emma was really good at focusing on her work. She channeled that talent into helping Regina and Robin keep the citizens from wandering too close to the mall; but she couldn't stop her mind and eyes from slowly trailing back to the mall door. Every second that her partner didn't come running back through the door with the kid in tow was another moment in which hell could quite literally break loose.

Every second felt like an hour. Every tick of the hand of her watch felt like the exploding of a bomb. She felt the sounds of the crowd fading away as every tick of the watch became a thundering blast. It was almost like the world around her had ceased to exist. Part of her was there helping to corral the civilians but the other part of her was frozen staring at the building. The ground rocked and Emma felt a blast of heat woosh up behind her. Silence fell upon the crowd as she turned in horror to see the charred remains of the building behind her.

The emotional part of her wanted to run into the flames and locate her partner. The more rational part of her helped guide the people further from the blast and into the safety of the awaiting ambulances. Thankfully no civilians had been injured in the blast but some people had sustained minor injuries in the ensuing chaos.

Finally with the civilians dealt with Emma had a chance to dial her partner's cell. A single tear streamed down her face when she wasn't connected. Killian was gone. Her coworkers appeared behind her as they stood silently watching the flames. Their unit was like a family and no one could bear to say the words out loud. The words that meant Killian wouldn't be joining them. He wouldn't ever be joining them.

Emma was devastated. She had never gotten the chance to tell him how she felt. She would never get to know what it felt like to feel his lips on hers. She would never get to hear his lilting accent ever again. In that moment Emma Swan was many things, she was devastated, heartbroken, and more so than anything else she was angry. Angry at the world, angry at the people who planted the bomb, and angry at Killian. She was furious because he had ran back up the stairs instead of her. Angry because he had now albeit unintentionally left her alone. The whole will they or won't they question was obsolete if he wasn't there to be a part of it.

2nd unit stood with tears on their faces for their fallen brother in arms. Although he could be 'a total git' in the words of August he was still a part of their odd little family.

The silence was too much for Emma to bear. She shouted into the flames "I can't believe you, you asshole! How dare you die on me. You are supposed to be my partner". Regina tried to rub Emma's shoulder in comfort but she shook her off. "Who am I supposed to go to lunch with? Who am I supposed to solve crimes with? Who will get all my jokes?" Emma ranted on "Obviously you didn't think about any of that before you got your idiot self killed!". Emma knew that she was being a bit manic but at this point she honestly didn't care. Her partner was dead; and with that a piece of her heart had died as well. Her coworkers watched in disbelief as she hucked her shoes into the flame in anguish. "You complete asshat!" She screamed into the flames.

There Emma Swan slumped down onto the ground her energy completely spent. Her coworkers sat alongside her; watching as the firemen fought the flames that had engulfed the mall. Emma realized she didn't know when they had arrived on the scene but she was thankful that they were doing their job; since she felt like she had done an abysmal job of doing hers. The cold water on the flames acted as a means of cooling off her anger. If her partner was here he probably would have made a joke about having a thing for ladies with a fiery temper while gesturing at the burning building. It hurt enormously to think of what he would have said as opposed to him being there to actually say it. She could almost here his lilting voice sassing back at her nonexistent retort.

Over an hour passed as the unit held a silent vigil watching as the flames faded out and died. The time didn't make it hurt less but it did allow Emma to process it better. They stood to head back to headquarters when Emma heard that same familiar voice talking to someone down the roadway.

It was impossible. He hadn't made it out; but that didn't stop Emma from turning to face the voice. He was right there in front of her; or at least he was about a block away. She stood up and without waiting for her coworkers ran in her socks across the asphalt. It hurt her feet to scratch against the uneven pavement but she didn't care at all.

She practically tackled him in a bear hug. Emma Swan wasn't really one for over enthusiastic hugs; or really hugs period but this was an exception. She buried her face in his shoulder. Her abrupt personality change was enough to let Killian know something was wrong. He returned her tight embrace for as long as it took her to calm down. Neither of them pointed out the fact that she was crying, he just rubbed her back in a soothing motion.

"You know love if you keep crying you are going to ruin the leather of my coat" he replied as the last of her tears were wiped away.

Her appearance turned to one of annoyance. "I can't believe I burned my shoes for an asshole like you" she said with a slightly hardened edge.

He peered down into her face when she finally pulled away. "I thought you were dead" Emma whispered as if in answer to his confusion. She could see the pieces slowly clicking together behind his eyes. Evidently Killian hadn't realized that his lack of presence would lead them to assume the worst.

"I'm so so sorry Emma. I never meant to make you think I was dead. It was taking awhile to track down the kid so I thought it would be safest to use the back exit. He didn't have any family present so I thought I should walk him home. You know make sure he gets back safe and whatnot." He said a slight sadness creeping into his eyes.

"Why couldn't you at least let us know you were safe?" Emma asked a glare starting to cross her features.

"I tried. I lost my phone in the blast. Whale was supposed to let you all know I was good so I could get the kid home" he replied a wavering anger creeping into his voice.

The anger wasn't really directed at her; it was more directed at the situation as a whole. That didn't change the fact that it added fuel to the flames of Emma's growing annoyance. "You owe me a new pair of boots you complete jerk" she whisper screamed at him.

"It's not my fault you chose to burn them. Besides are you really more sad about the boots or the whole thinking I was dead thing?" He asked in exasperation.

The anger faded from her face as she broke out into laughter "I don't know they were a pretty nice pair of combat boots". The tension of the situation had faded almost as quickly as it had built.

"I suppose the cost of a pair of boots is worth you not being eternally pissed off at me. After all how expensive can women's boots be?" He replied.

"Those ones" she gestured to the flames "were 200 bucks".

Killian's eyes practically bulged out of his head "How are women's boots that expensive? Better question why did you throw two hundred dollar boots into the flames?".

Emma ducked her head in slight embarrassment "I might not have been in the right mind at the moment".

"When you bought them? Or when you threw them?" He asked laughing.

She elbowed him before heading towards the minivan they had all arrived in. Second Unit had politely given them a bit or privacy to talk it out. Emma was sure that they all had their questions of how Killian survived and were probably all a little pissed that they had started to grieve his none death; but she appreciated that they had all put it on the back burner to give them some space.

She hopped into the van and Killian jumped in behind her. The silence in the van was palpable. Everyone had questions but no one wanted to be the first to ask.

Neal was the first one to break the silence "You know if I knew letting you think I was dead would get this kind of a reaction out of you I would have done it ages ago. No sense in letting Killian beat me to the punch".

Emma turned to glare at him "If I still had my shoes I'd be throwing them at you for even suggesting that". The van erupted into laughs breaking the awkward silence. Emma was thankful that her team was okay, albeit momentarily. If anyone could overcome something like this it was second unit.

 **Author's Note: Initially this was written to be a part of my one shot collection but I decided I liked the universe enough to make it its own stand alone piece. If you liked it please consider leaving a review as reviews to me are what leather jacketed pirates are to Emma in other words they mean a lot. If people are interested in this fic I would be more than happy to continue this as a multi chapter just let me know.**


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